CBD EDUCATION

What is the Endocannabinoid System?

Cannabis medications work so efficiently because of the endocannabinoid system, present in all humans and many animals as well. This system consists of a series of receptors that are configured only to accept cannabinoids, especially tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiaol (CBD).

The primary function of the endocannininoid system is to maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in the external environment. This stability is known as homeostasis, which endocannabinoids promote at the most basic levels. These endocannabinoids, regulate homeostasis through a wide variety of mechanisms, including facilitation of intercellular communication between different cell types.

Remember, there are over 85 known cannabinoids, and probably hundreds more. The system is an important part of our physiologies, and was discovered in the 1990’s by an Israeli researcher Dr. Ralph Mechoulam, who also identified THC as the main active ingredient in cannabis.

Dr. Mechoulam's research discovered two main receptors, cannabinoid 1 CB1 and cannabinoid 2 (CB2), that are keyed to both the encocannabinoids that our body naturally produces and phytocannabinoids (plant-based) like THC and CBD. Our bodies actually produce endocannibinoids, similar to how our body produces endorphins, it is thought though, that many people are endocannibinoid deficient as we use to consume hemp plants and the animals that ate them, before the plants were eradicated and made illegal to grow.